Could
you please explain change of time and changeof
tense in reported speech? Thank you in advance.

Roger
Woodham replies:

no
time change ~ no tense change

There
is normally no tense change, Marina, if the reporting
verb is in the present tense. This is because there is
no important change of time or circumstances. Consider these police
interviews:

A:
I've got no idea where Mack the Knife is.

B:He
says he's got no idea where Mack the Knife is.

A:
I haven't seen him since he came out of prison.

B:
He claims he hasn't seen him since he came out of prison.

A:
I am innocent of any offence you might like to charge me
with.

B:
He maintains he is innocent of any offence we might like
to charge him with.

Similarly,
after reporting verbs which are in the future or the
present perfect, tenses normally remain the same in the reported
clause as in what the speaker originally said. Again there is
no important change of time or circumstances. Consider the
following:

A:
Jill, I've got a ticket for the concert, so I'll bejoining you.

B:
I'll tell Tim you've got a ticket and will be joining
us. He'll be so pleased.

There
will be a 10p in the pound increase in income tax from
next April to help fund the National Health Service.

The
Government has announced that there will be a 10p in the
pound increase in income tax from next April to help fund the
National Health Service.

time
change ~ tense change

However,
what is said by somebody is often reported subsequently at
a different time and in a different place. This change of time
nearly always results in a change of tense.

When
a past-tense reporting verb is used, the tense of what was
said originally usually moves one tense back into the past.

Consider
the following examples which all relate to Tom and Julia's engagement
party and observe how the tenses change:

A:
Are you going to Tom and Julia's engagement party?

B:
I asked him if he was going to Tom and Julia's engagement
party.

A:
Can you pick me up from the station?

B:
I wondered whether they might be able to pick me up from
the station.

C:
Who's that girl in the red dress, Tom?

C:
I asked Tom who that girl in the red dress was.

A:
How did youmake that salad, Julie?

A:
I asked Julie how she had made the salad.

B:
How much wine have you brought, Mike?

B:
I wanted to know how much wine Mike had brought.

D:
We're getting married on 4 July and have bought
a house in Manchester.

A:
They explained that they were getting married on 4 July
and had bought a house in Manchester.

The
final example relates to a point in time which is still in thefuture even when the original speech is reported. No tense
change is also possible:

They explained that they're getting married on 4 July and
have bought a house in Manchester.

With
reference to the future, consider the way I love you is reported
in these examples and the way in which the meaning changes depending
on how it is reported:

He
told me that he loved me . But I now know
that he was lying.

He
has told me that he loves me . And I think
that may be true.

time
change ~ no tense change

Note
that some verb forms cannot go further back into the past, even
when they are reported at a later date. This applies to used
to, the past perfect and past modal and third
conditional structures. Consider the following:

A:
Weused to go out dancing every night of the week.

B:
They admitted that theyused to go out dancing every
night of the week.

A:
We could have saved ourselves a lot of money, if
we'd taken your advice.

B:
They conceded that theycould havesaved
themselves a lot of money, if they'd taken my advice.

A:
I had never eaten oysters before I met Nelson.

B:
She mentioned that shehad never eaten oysters
before she met Nelson.

A:
I might be back late tonight as I'm going out with Max.

B:
She told me that shemight be back late as she was
going out with Max.

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